Tricks of the Trade: The Pantry

Let me let you in on a few secrets: 1) my kitchen pantry is more of a cabinet and 2) the top few shelves cannot be reached without standing on top of the counter. As such, I had to get pretty smart as I crafted a foolproof plan to store all of my dried foods. Here’s what I did:

Bottom shelf: Short items, on-the-go snacks that I reach for on a daily basis.

Second shelf: Dinner foods, such as pastas, soups, and rice. I also reach for these quite often.

Third shelf: Tall items, like big cracker and cereal boxes.

Fourth shelf: Teas, coffees, etc. I don’t reach for these as much so they can live on a higher shelf.

Top shelf: Baking items and wines. I bake about once a month so it felt right to keep these ingredients up high.